Method device and system for heating/cooling and ventilating a premises

ABSTRACT

The device ( 8 ) comprises a casing ( 10 ) defining an inner chamber ( 11 ) and having an inlet orifice ( 14 ) for fresh ventilation air ( 12 ), an inlet orifice ( 15 ) for recycled air ( 16 ), and blowing orifices ( 19 ) for blowing out air contained in the inner chamber, which are intended each to be connected to a reception room of the premises. Units ( 25 ) for heat-treating the air are each combined with a blowing orifice and are controlled independently of one another according to the setpoint temperature of the corresponding reception room. The method consists in feeding recycled air into the inner chamber only if that is necessary to achieve the setpoint temperature in a reception room, and in heat-treating the fresh ventilation air, and if appropriate the recycled air, independently room by room.

TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and to a system for heating/cooling and ventilating a premises.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF RELATED ART

The invention applies to any premises, whether it be a dwelling (individual or communal) or tertiary premises. A premises such as this typically comprises a plurality of occupiable rooms (for example dining room, drawing room and bedrooms in the case of a home) and a plurality of functional rooms (kitchen, bathroom, toilet).

Given the current progress in the building industry, the heating requirements are tending to be greatly reduced. This is because improvements to various materials (insulation, glazing, thermal bridges, etc.) have allowed a substantial reduction in heat loss from buildings. Now, unit heating—which involves using air as a vector to cover all loses—is becoming an attractive alternative for fulfilling all the heating needs of a home. What is more, one of the advantages of using air as the vector is that it can be used to provide cooling during the summer months.

The air distributed to the premises comprises new air, from outside and intended for ventilation, and recycled air, from inside the premises. The air is distributed through a centralized blower—heater unit assembly which is commonly said to be “ductable”. The recycled air is generally taken from the ducting in the premises in order then to be heated or cooled before being blown into the occupiable rooms. The production of heat at the heater unit may be either of an electrical type (using a resistive heating element) or of the hot water type (from a boiler or the like), or of the thermodynamic type (employing direct expansion).

The presence of a blower for recycling the air is practically mandatory in order to ensure that the premises are satisfactorily heated or cooled. This is because the thermal treatment (heating or cooling) of the new air alone is not generally capable, while remaining at appropriate blowing temperature levels, of covering all requirements.

In premises that are heated and/or cooled by unit heater systems, particular attention must be paid to the management of the new ventilation air. This is because the supply of new air needed to guarantee good air quality is often difficult to manage because the new air requirements and the heating or cooling requirements are generally mutually contradictory.

A number of current systems for reconciling the requirement for new air and the requirement for heating or cooling are given hereinafter.

The most conventional system is to use two independent systems, one for ventilation and one for heating. the ventilation, which is performed with a conventional system and disassociated from the operation of the heating system, is afforded by a system of the single-flow (air inlets and extraction unit) CMV (controlled mechanical ventilation) type. However, in the case of interior units for the thermal treatment of air, combining this with single-flow ventilation may generate aerodynamic disturbances in respect of the air inlets. This is because as the “ductable” device is started up, a significant amount of recycled air is introduced into a room. Because of the pressure drop that the air experiences as it passes through the circulation system, the pressure in the room rises and the air intakes may become air outlets thus increasing heat losses from the air and reducing the air quality. This solution is therefore inadequate from a technical standpoint.

To avoid this problem, use may be made of a ventilation system of the double-flow CMV type. With a system such as this, there is no direct air intake from the outside. What happens is that air is blown through independent ducts and blowing outlets into the occupiable room, the air being extracted from the functional rooms. However, insofar as the ductable units also use a blowing network in order to carry the heating or cooling air, fitting it alongside a double-flow ventilation system prevents serious installation problems.

Another system aimed at solving the aforementioned installation problem is to attempt to perform hygienic ventilation (conveying of new air from the outside) in the same network. This then avoids the problem of bulk associated with a double blowing network and with the presence of two blowing terminals per room. Some air-conditioning installations with units of the ductable type are produced with a new air duct upstream of the machine. If the temperature in each room is controlled by varying the rate of flow of blown air (using, for example, a motorized damper), it then becomes impossible to guarantee the rates of flow of new ventilation air per room: and the ventilation provided does not meet the requirements prescribed by regulations. Because the requirements for ventilation and for heating are not concomitant, this in some instances leads either to under-ventilation or to overheating. Furthermore, one additional difficulty is that of managing the temperature room by room. The air is heated by a single heater unit for all distribution points and then makes temperature regulation more complicated still.

In the case of interior units of the ductable type, there is a way of processing the new air while at the same time using the same blowing network. That system is described in document WO 1999/057491. The principle is to disseminate in bulk into a plenum (a false ceiling) a mixture of recycled air and of new ventilation air, this whole entity being thermally treated by the ductable unit. This then achieves a centralized supply of air at one and the same temperature, this air then being blown into the various occupiable rooms via outlets connected to the plenum. The temperature in each of these rooms is regulated via the extent to which the corresponding outlet is opened.

Now, the demand for heat in each occupiable room is dependent on the exterior temperature, whereas the requirement for each room to be ventilated with new air is fixed. The amount of new air blown into each room therefore fluctuates according to the extent to which each of the outlets is open. In particular, if the requirement for heating is low, then too small a quantity of new air is blown in, and the ventilation requirement is not satisfied. To alleviate this problem, document WO 99/57491 makes provision for measuring the supply of new air over a given period of time and then adjusting the discrepancy by temporary and localized over-ventilation of those rooms which are deficient in fresh air. That represents a complex electronically-managed assembly associated with the interdependence between energy production and ventilation in this case. What is more, the system proposed in that document entails energy-greedy over-ventilation in order to achieve the rates of flow prescribed in the regulations.

Elsewhere, document FR 2 839 143 discloses a system in which a new ventilation air-carrying and distributing element is provided downstream of the unit that heats the recycled air and is connected to the blower of the ductable unit. This element allows, on the one hand, control of thermal requirements room by room and, on the other hand, ensures that the rate of flow of new air is maintained and regulated room by room. The device thus makes it possible to preserve the independence between energy production and ventilation, but using one and the same duct, this being a highly sought-after solution in order to save on space and installation facilities.

However, that system entails starting up the recycling blower as soon as there is a requirement for heat. That is true also of the aforementioned systems and leads to a substantial electrical power consumption and may create noise problems.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The invention sets out to remedy the above-mentioned disadvantages by making it possible, to provide in a coupled manner:

-   -   heating and/or cooling of a premises using air as a vector,         allowing temperature regulation room by room;     -   suitable control of the rates of flow of ventilation air and         therefore of the interior air quality, room by room;     -   and to do so in a simple way with low electrical power         consumption.

To this end, and according to a first aspect, the invention relates to a method for heating/cooling and ventilating a premises comprising a plurality of occupiable rooms and a plurality of functional rooms, in which method:

-   -   new ventilation air and recycled air is conveyed into an         interior chamber defined by a box section situated inside the         premises;     -   the air contained in said interior chamber is thermally treated         according to the set-point temperature in at least one         occupiable room;     -   the air contained in said interior chamber is blown into each of         the occupiable rooms that are to be supplied with air;     -   the stale air is removed from the functional rooms.

According to one general definition of the invention, this method is characterized in that:

-   -   for each occupiable room that is to be supplied with air, the         new ventilation air intended to be blown into a given occupiable         room is thermally treated on the basis of the set-point         temperature of said occupiable room and independently of the         thermal treatment applied to the air intended to be blown into         some other occupiable room;     -   and only if such a measure is needed in order to attain the         set-point temperature in at least one occupiable room is         recycled air conveyed to said interior chamber where it is mixed         with the new ventilation air and undergoes the same thermal         treatment.

In that way, a sufficient supply of new ventilation air is ensured, in accordance with the regulations, irrespective of the heating/cooling requirements. In that way it is possible to guarantee satisfactory air quality in each room, without using complicated means.

Furthermore, because the recycled air is conveyed into the box structure only if such a measure proves necessary in order to attain the set-point temperature, the electrical power consumption involved in carrying the recycled air, and the corresponding noise, are considerably limited.

The recycling blower may in particular be switched on when one of the main rooms is overheated (the set-point temperature thereof is exceeded by 2° C. for example). This may occur when there is a closed-hearth fireplace or some other localized top-up heating system in one of the rooms of the premises. This situation also arises when one façade is bathed in sunlight and the other is not. Starting up the recycling blower thus allows the temperatures in the various rooms to be evened out and overheating avoided.

The box structure may be made up of a box located in the premises, or of a plenum formed within the premises itself, for example a false ceiling.

The invention also allows the temperature to be regulated room by room in a simple way and does not employ a system for the centralized supply of air all at the same temperature.

The rate of flow of new ventilation air conveyed into an occupiable room may be substantially constant and independent of the set-point temperature in said room. As an alternative, this rate of flow may be controlled to at least one parameter measured in the premises and corresponding to the ventilation requirement thereof (whether it has one or a plurality of occupants, CO₂ level, moisture level, or any other indicator of pollution in the room in question).

For example, recycled air is conveyed into the interior chamber when, once thermally treated new ventilation air has been blown into at least one occupiable room for a predetermined length of time, the temperature in said occupiable room still differs appreciably from the set-point temperature.

According to a second aspect, the invention relates to a system for heating/cooling and ventilating a premises comprising a plurality of occupiable rooms and a plurality of functional rooms, the system comprising a heating/cooling and ventilation device comprising a box structure defining an interior chamber, the box structure comprising:

-   -   at least one intake for new ventilation air and one intake for         recycled air opening into said interior chamber;     -   blowing outlets for blowing out the air contained in the         interior chamber, these being intended each to be connected to         an occupiable room that is to be supplied with air;     -   a plurality of units for thermally treating the air, these each         being associated with an air blowing outlet and intended to be         controlled independently of one another on the basis of the         set-point temperature of the corresponding occupiable room;         the heating/cooling and ventilation device further comprising a         blower designed to allow recycled air to enter the interior         chamber via the intake for recycled air.

The special feature of the system according to the invention is that it comprises a central control unit capable of controlling the start-up and rotational speed of the recycling blower on the basis of the difference between the actual temperature and the set-point temperature in at least one occupiable room if the set-point temperature cannot be attained by thermally treating the new ventilation air alone.

By virtue of this system it is possible to obtain the desired temperature in each of the occupiable rooms while at the same time guaranteeing a satisfactory rate of flow of new ventilation air.

Advantageously, each blowing outlet has a cross section tailored to the desired rate of flow of air in the corresponding occupiable room. It is thus possible to increase the rate of flow of blown air while at the same time maintaining the same relationship between the various rooms. If, for example, the blowing outlets are of substantially identical cross section, then substantially identical distribution of new air can be obtained between the various occupiable rooms.

The system may further comprise a ventilation module comprising an inlet for new ventilation air from outside the premises, an outlet for new ventilation air which is connected to the intake for new ventilation air of the device, a stale-air inlet connected to each of the functional rooms from which air is to be extracted, and an outlet for letting stale air out to outside the premises.

The ventilation module may be a double-flow CMV module.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

One possible embodiment of the invention is now described by way of nonlimiting example with reference to the attached figures:

FIG. 1 is a schematic view in perspective from above of premises comprising a heating/cooling and ventilation system according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view of a heating/cooling and ventilating device according to the invention;

FIG. 3 is a rear perspective view of the device of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 2, showing the inside of the device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 represents premises 1, here an individual dwelling, comprising a plurality of occupiable rooms such as two bedrooms 2, 3 and a lounge/dining room 4, functional rooms such as a kitchen 5, a bathroom/toilet 6, and a corridor 7.

Positioned inside the premises 1 is a heating/cooling and ventilation device 8 according to the invention and a ventilation module 9 of the double-flow CMV type. The device 8, more specifically illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 4, comprises a box structure 10 defining an interior chamber 11.

The ventilation module 9 takes in the new ventilation air 12, possibly filtered, from outside the premises 1 and conveys it along a first duct 13 to a new ventilation air intake 14 formed on the box structure 10 and opening into the interior chamber 11. In the embodiment of FIGS. 2 to 4, the device 8 comprises two intakes 14 for new ventilation air 12.

The box structure 10 also comprises an intake 15 for recycled air 16 this being connected to a second duct 17 opening into the corridor 7 of the premises 1. The device 8 comprises a blower 18 designed to let recycled air 16 into the interior chamber via the recycled-air intake 15, when necessary. It may also have a non-return valve, which may or may not be motorized, designed to prevent air contained in the interior chamber 11 from leaving via the recycled-air intake 15.

The new ventilation air 12 and the recycled air 16 that might have been conveyed into the interior chamber 11 mix, are thermally treated (that is to say heated or cooled) then blown into the occupiable rooms 2, 3, 4. To do that, the box structure 10 has blowing outlets 19 each connected to a third duct 20 opening onto a blowing outlet 21 formed in the wall of an occupiable room 2, 3, 4, for example near the top.

Finally, stale air 22 is extracted from each of the functional rooms 5, 6 by an extraction orifice 23 which, formed in the wall of these rooms, is connected to a fourth duct 24 which opens into the ventilation module 9. The stale air 22 is then removed to outside the premises 1, after possibly having been passed through a heat exchanger where it can preheat the new ventilation air 12.

The thermal treatment of the air contained in the interior chamber 11 of the box structure 10 and the way in which the system for heating/cooling and ventilating the premises 1 works is now described in greater detail.

This thermal treatment is obtained by means of heat treatment units 25 positioned in the interior chamber 11 upstream of each blowing outlet 19, the units 25 being specific to each blowing outlet 19 and independent of one another. Each unit 25 is therefore associated with a distinct room in the premises 1. The units 25 here work by circulating a heat transfer fluid such as water, carried and removed by an appropriate system 26 formed on the box structure 10. It is thus possible to heat or cool the air which is to be blown, as need be. However, other types of unit may be provided (for example those which heat using a resistive electric element).

The new ventilation air 12 is conveyed to the interior chamber 11 at the rate of flow needed to maintain good air quality in the premises 1. The overall rate of flow of air in the premises 1 is fixed upstream of the device 8. It may be constant or controlled to at least one measured parameter corresponding to the overall requirement for ventilation of the premises 1. Good distribution of new ventilation air 12 between the occupiable rooms 2, 3, 4 is provided by defining the cross section of each blowing outlet 19, which will take priority over rate of flow. Advantageously, the specific pressure drop caused by the unit 25 will constitute this equivalent orifice. When the recycling blower 18 is started up, the total rate of flow of blown air increases, but the amount of new ventilation air 12 per room remains the same (the level of new ventilation air 12 per room is respected given that the rate of flow through each of the blowing outlets 19 varies proportionately).

Advantageously, the system comprises a central control unit (not depicted) connected to a thermostat 27 provided in each occupiable room 2, 3, 4. On the basis of the discrepancy between the actual temperature and the set-point temperature in at least one occupiable room, the central control unit controls the thermal treatment units 25 to heat or cool the new ventilation air 12 contained in the interior chamber 11 of the box structure 10. If the set-point temperature cannot be attained by thermal treatment of the new ventilation air 12 alone, then the central control unit may command the starting-up and the rotational speed of the recycling blower 18, on the basis of the discrepancy between the actual temperature and the set-point temperature. The recycled air 16 thus conveyed to the chamber 11 mixes with the new ventilation air 12 and is also heated or cooled as it passes through the units 25 and before it enters the blowing outlets 19.

As a preference, the central control unit integrates the temperature discrepancies across all the occupiable rooms in order to ensure evenness across all occupiable rooms.

The non-return valve makes it possible, when the blower stops, to ensure that the new ventilation air 12 will be blown into the occupiable rooms and will not pass through the blower 18 and bypass ventilating the occupiable rooms.

Thermal regulation is performed in each unit 25, which means that each room can be regulated precisely. Furthermore, when these requirements are low, it is possible to heat only the new ventilation air 12, thus avoiding having to start up the recycling blower 18: this then limits electrical power consumption and audible disturbances. The blower 18 will be started up according to the needs to be covered and on the basis of an upper blowing temperature limit. In practice, 60 to 80% of requirements can be covered without the need to start up the recycling blower 18.

To avoid stratification, that is to say to prevent the hot air from remaining toward the top of the occupiable rooms, particularly if the rate of flow of blown air is low, the system according to the invention may also comprise means of agitating the air in at least one occupiable room.

These means of agitating the air may consist of the blower itself. When one of the main rooms is overheated because there is a localized top-up heating system in it or its façade is exposed to the sun, for example, the agitation caused by the recycling blower makes it possible to reduce the overall requirements for heating by increasing the efficiency with which internal supplies of heat (from the sun or from localized heating systems) is recuperated. What happens is that the agitation causes heat energy to pass from an over-heated room to a room that is demanding heating.

Thus, the invention makes a marked improvement over the prior art by making it possible to meet two often contradictory requirements, namely the requirement for new air to ventilate a premises and the requirement for heat or cold energy carried by the air to heat or cool this premises, in a simple way.

The invention makes it possible, on the one hand, to obtain a rate of flow of new ventilation air room by room that meets the requirements prescribed by regulations, it further being possible for this new air to be filtered and/or preheated.

On the other hand, by virtue of the invention, the supply of heat or cold is customized room by room through thermostatic regulation on a room by room basis (rather than centralized supply of air at a constant temperature). The invention is therefore capable of responding to variable requirements for heat on a room by room basis.

Furthermore, because there is just one duct per room dealing with both ventilation and heating/cooling, the invention makes it possible to reduce the size of the air distribution networks of a double-flow ventilation system, makes the networks easier to install, and allows the installation costs to be reduced.

By virtue of the double-flow principle, it is possible to avoid having to fit transfer gratings between the occupiable rooms and the point(s) from which the recycled air is taken.

It goes without saying that the invention is not restricted to the embodiment described hereinabove by way of example but that, on the contrary, it encompasses all alternative forms of embodiment thereof. 

1. A method for heating/cooling and ventilating a premises comprising a plurality of occupiable rooms and a plurality of functional rooms, in which method: new ventilation air and recycled air is conveyed into an interior chamber defined by a box section situated inside the premises; the air contained in said interior chamber is thermally treated according to the set-point temperature in at least one occupiable room; the air contained in said interior chamber is blown into each of the occupiable rooms that are to be supplied with air; the stale air is removed from the functional rooms; wherein: for each occupiable room that is to be supplied with air, the new ventilation air intended to be blown into a given occupiable room is thermally treated on the basis of the set-point temperature of said occupiable room and independently of the thermal treatment applied to the air intended to be blown into some other occupiable room; and only if such a measure is needed in order to attain the set-point temperature in at least one occupiable room is recycled air conveyed to said interior chamber where it is mixed with the new ventilation air and undergoes the same thermal treatment.
 2. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rate of flow of new ventilation air conveyed into an occupiable room is substantially constant and independent of the set-point temperature in said room.
 3. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein the rate of flow of new ventilation air conveyed into an occupiable room is controlled to at least one parameter measured in the premises and corresponding to the ventilation requirement thereof.
 4. The method as claimed in claim 1, wherein recycled air is conveyed into the interior chamber when, once thermally treated new ventilation air has been blown into at least one occupiable room for a predetermined length of time, the temperature in said occupiable room still differs appreciably from the set-point temperature.
 5. A system for heating/cooling and ventilating a premises comprising a plurality of occupiable rooms and a plurality of functional rooms, the system comprising a heating/cooling and ventilation device comprising a box structure defining an interior chamber, the box structure comprising: at least one intake for new ventilation air and one intake for recycled air opening into said interior chamber; blowing outlets for blowing out the air contained in the interior chamber, these being intended each to be connected to an occupiable room that is to be supplied with air; a plurality of units for thermally treating the air, these each being associated with an air blowing outlet and intended to be controlled independently of one another on the basis of the set-point temperature of the corresponding occupiable room; the heating/cooling and ventilation device further comprising a blower designed to allow recycled air to enter the interior chamber via the intake for recycled air, wherein the system comprises a central control unit capable of controlling the start-up and rotational speed of the recycling blower on the basis of the difference between the actual temperature and the set-point temperature in at least one occupiable room if the set-point temperature cannot be attained by thermally treating the new ventilation air alone.
 6. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein each blowing outlet has a cross section tailored to the desired rate of flow of air in the corresponding occupiable room.
 7. The system as claimed in 5, wherein it comprises a non-return valve designed to prevent air contained in the interior chamber from leaving via the intake for recycled air.
 8. The system as claimed in claim 5, wherein it further comprises a ventilation module comprising an inlet for new ventilation air from outside the premises, an outlet for new ventilation air which is connected to the intake for new ventilation air of the device, a stale-air inlet connected to each of the functional rooms from which air is to be extracted, and an outlet for letting stale air out to outside the premises.
 9. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein the ventilation module is a double-flow CMV module.
 10. The system as claimed in claim 8, wherein it further comprises means of agitating the air in at least one occupiable room. 